Summer is when everything gets done. Everything you want to do gets done during summer. I've heard it over and over from Corp elders, putting the pressure on the summer crew to fix what needs fixing, start new projects, finish big projects, and generally just crush it. I suppose that means it's time to look back on what we accomplished this summer and see how we did, since we've now done the majority of what's going to get done this year. It's of course true that not having to worry about/attend/worry about not attending class leaves us free to concentrate on the Corp, but it's also true that the projects we save for the summer are complicated, important, and time-consuming.
Subscribing to an attitude of doing a few things well the first time means we need to learn to be satisfied with a shorter and less ambitious list of projects and be willing to concentrate on details that can seem trivial and annoying. Making something sustainable isn't necessarily the fun part. The fun part is saying "hey, we're students, and we can change whatever we want! Let's change X, Y, and Z into A, B, and C". Problem is, two, five, or twenty summers ago, someone may well have said "let's change A, B, and C into X, Y, and Z" and did an OK-but-not-great job at it.
While we will certainly repeat some mistakes, I'm proud of what we've done so far, and if we can finish everything we started, get people to buy into a new way of doing some things that haven't been done as well as they could have been, keep up the enthusiasm and Corplove and keep down the burnout, we'll be in great shape come spring. To give you an idea of what exactly we've been up to (besides getting up to our -ahem- summer weights and acquiring respiratory infections) I'll hit the highlights of Corp Summer 2009.
New pastry vendor means no more cardboard cookies. Cr-ice-is continues, but ends in new ice machines in every coffee shop. DPAC director is Joel; great applicant pool and enthusiastic support from Corp focus groups. GeorgetownYou revamp with online design tool. New age in HR: interview training, hiring reform, and performance reporting. Online system lets you submit praise for employees or complain about a terrible shift. Corp off-site storage organized (to any alumni reading, I blame you...) and audit successfully completed thanks to HUGE performances across the Corp. Catering continues to make moves, ready to make a splash. Vittles completely repriced. Negotiated better cup deal to save money and get sweet cups. Made contact with 1100 alumni, new age in alumni relations. Crossovers, administrators, and cash counters. Sweat. Love. Summer.
(Stay tuned for details.)
